1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protecting plant tissues from stress, and more specifically to methods to increase crop yield.
2. Description of Related Art
Crops such as corn, soybean, canola, sunflowers, wheat, sugar beets and cotton are grown in large quantities and traditionally have small profit margins for the grower. Most of the cost of agricultural production is fixed per acre of land farmed, and the profit for the farmer depends on yield (i.e. the amount of product harvested per acre). A typical example is given in Table 1 (below):
COSTSSeed Corn$50Fertilizer$200Tillage$100Pesticides$50Harvest$50Miscellaneous$50Total:$500per acreINCOMEYield140bushelsMarket Price$5per bushelTotal:$700per acrePROFITTotal$200per acre
In the example shown in Table 1, a small increase in yield (e.g., from 140 to 147 bushels per acre, or 5%) translates into a significant increase in profits (e.g., 15%). Conversely, a decrease in yield (e.g., from 140 to 100 bushels per acre) can destroy the profits. It is therefore desirable for farmers to increase crop yield.